Something(s) to read, 2013

9 Dec 2013

Up here above the 42nd parallel the weather is such that I'm staying
inside and reading more, and you might also plan to spend extra time
indoors in the next few weeks. Or months. So in case you wondered, here
are the best books I read in 2013, complete with
my brief notes to myself about them. They're in no particular order -- they're all good and some are even better than that.

I hope you find
something new here that you like!

Non-Fiction

Black Holes & Time Warps

Kip Thorne

Excellent, and worth working your way through it slowly to feel the wonder of what's going on out there.

We Learn Nothing

Tim Kreider

Contains the best essay on politics I've read in ages: "When They're Not Assholes". He's a terrific writer all around.

John Adams

David McCullough

An admirable book about an admirable person. McCullough gives him a pass on quite a lot, but makes a good case for doing so. And Jefferson comes off poorly, certainly by comparison, and that may be fair...though the book is titled Adams, so there's a selection bias here.

My Beloved Brontosaurus

Brian Switek

Fine overview of the current state of the art in dinosaur research. He's also a great speaker, so if you get a chance to see him, do it. (I did months after reading the book, so no selection bias here, I don't think!)

Animal Wise

Virginia Morrell

Great survey of the current state of research into whether animals have minds (yes) and how they think (more and harder than we give them credit for). See above about speaking excellence.

Gulp

Mary Roach

Great as usual. Just read everything she's written, okay?

An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth

Chris Hadfield

If you've seen his videos from space, you know you can expect earnestness and honesty and humor. You get it here. (And I got to meet him here in Michigan, and the wonderful Schulers Books.)

Fiction

The Art of Fielding

Chad Harbach

Very well written; more than a baseball book, though it's that too. I would read another just like it, but this is too good do a sequel.

Science Fiction/Fantasy

2312

Kim Stanley Robinson

Sweeping, epic, real. You know the drill with KSR. Great, as usual.

The Name of the Wind

Patrick Rothfuss

No closure at all, but effortless (seeming!) writing and a good epic style and story. I read the next one too, and it just about drove me crazy in some respects, the least of which is that closure thing. But the guy can write!

The Sorcerer's House

Gene Wolfe

Puzzling, but pulled me through quickly. Much more there than meets the eye, and the transitions between reality and faerie realms were slick and disorienting, just the effect he intended, I'm sure.

Zone One

Colson Whitehead

Layered and elliptical and digressive and funny. Not sure what the point was, or is, but I'll think about this again, and will read more by him. He's a terrific writer. And speaker...it was a great year for hearing first-rate authors speak!

The Ocean at the End of the Lane

Neil Gaiman

Beautiful. His best. Cf. Mary Roach above, though they could hardly be more different in subject matter and scope. (Also cf. above re. getting to hear him speak. Dang, it was a really great year for that.)

Young Adult

Seraphina

Rachel Hartman

Superb, and funny, and real-feeling. A well-built world and a sequel awaits. We're lucky, we readers!

A Hat Full of Sky

Terry Pratchett

Another Wee Free Men and Tiffany Aching delight.

Graphic Novels: Fiction

Marble Season

Gilbert Hernandez

Just about the perfect kids book, or rather, a book about what it's like to be a kid.

You're All Just Jealous of My Jetpack

Tom Gauld

Odd and fun and a book-lover's book

Genius

Steven T. Seagle and Teddy Kristiansen

Excellent, and I think subtler than I gathered on first reading. And I gathered me some subtlety, I think. So I'll read it again.

Boxers & Saints

Gene Yang

Oh Gene, you can do no wrong. This is a terrific matched pair. Deep and broad and human.

A delight. Really and truly rollicking. I read it on the web, I read it in print, and I'll read it again and again in print again. It really is a delight, and notice how I don't stoop to the Turkish pun there?

Bad Houses

Sara Ryan and Carla Speed McNeil

A straightforward story that isn't -- the story structure is clever and handled deftly in both the writing and the art. Impressive and enjoyable.

Graphic Novels: Non-Fiction

Annie Sullivan and the Trials of Helen Keller

Joseph Lambert

Wonderful depictions of Keller's inner life, and how she learned. I was floored by how good this is.

March

John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell

Hits the trifecta: First rate in both story, significance, and art.

Relish

Lucy Knisley

Great book, and bonus: recipes!

Alec "The Years Have Pants"

Eddie Campbell

He's been great from the get-go, it seems, and at 638 pages, is itself remarkable how consistently great he's been.